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tossa de mar — An event with long traditions

A little show, a little circus, full street cafes with happy people, loud music and lots of people.

Two years ago last time

Covid put an end to the event last year. This year the event was toned down – from a weekend get-together to a one-day event limited to 150 cars. the organizer, Friends of Volkswagen de Catalunya, had gained access to the city's main street. There, the exhibition was to take place with sales stalls on the sides, as well as the acceleration competitions. Whether it was fear of Covid or dissatisfaction with the downscaling of the event is not known - but this year's event was only a shadow of previous events. Nevertheless, it was bigger than any other Volkswagen meeting I have seen in Norway.

Tossa de Mar

Tossa de Mar is a small town of 5600 inhabitants on the coast just outside Girona. During the holiday season there are far more people here. The city is visited year after year by regular holidaymakers – the majority Spanish. Residents who do not work with tourists probably commute about 2 miles to Girona. I think Tossa is a good place to live. Low heart rate and lowered shoulders with many opportunities for outdoor interests on land and in water.

vw t3 — The cars were carefully "leaned" up

Bubbles and buses

I recognize several of the cars from last time. They were more beautiful than ever. It is difficult to take pictures because of the crowd, but at the same time it is nice to see so many enthusiasts of all ages. This year as last year, all cars parked on one side of the street and buses and pickups on the other side. It is hard to believe that several of the buses on display are probably worth more than 1 million Norwegian kroner - also in the country of cars, Spain.

Feel the atmosphere!

We ourselves made the trip from France. One of the prized cars – a gorgeous Karmann Ghia – was actually French. From what I could see, it was the only French car to participate this year. I have captured some of the cars "on film". Join us for a trip up the city's main street, which was allocated to friends of Volkswagen for the occasion!

Pictures from Aircooled Tossa

vw t1 — Early 50s Hebmüller – convertible with special lines. After 1953, the cabriolets were built by Karmann.

vw t2 — Karmann Ghia in great color combination

hermaphrodite — The elders gathered. The black folk wagon in the background is a "zwitter". The others have an oval rear window.

vw karmann ghia — The T3 Caravelle Westfalia looks completely modern, but is actually both a veteran and a classic

karmann ghia — A camping-equipped T1 offers many possibilities

tossa de mar karmann ghia — Single cabins are rare. Here a T2.

See

Someone told me that this was the world's largest exhibition of air-cooled public cars. I do not doubt that. It was simply enormous.

A wonderful mix of bubbles and buses from all over Europe met at this year's Volksworld. Not only in the exhibition areas, but also out in the car parks, and on the lawns where people spent the night in their buses. Only public transport buses, of course. Visitors were encouraged to arrive the evening before to avoid the queues on the opening day.

Every year many a veteran VW has problems with the clutch in the last bit before arrival.

The event was held at Sundown Park racecourse in Esher, south-west of London. I was impressed by how many Belgians, Dutch and French had crossed the channel with their bubbles, T1 and T2 buses, Type3 notchback and fastback, - as well as beautiful Karmann Ghia. I saw one Courierwagen and a couple of Brazilian VWs. A 2-door Audi 100 Mk1 was among the public cars and I also saw a K70. Otherwise, most of it was air-cooled.

It is clear that early passenger coaches are worth their weight in gold down in Europe. Several exhibitors at Volksworld had specialized in furnishing solutions. It is possible to spend a lot of thought and money on the interior. I really liked solutions based on wooden veneer sheets. It reinforced the veteran character in a nice way. Others bet on plastic-fantastic. T70 buses from the 2s are well suited for such solutions.

VolksWorld revolves a lot around Volkswagen's buses, camping and multivan solutions. The very latest T6-based news of the day was also presented. I will tell more about that in a later post. But the focus on the early VW buses indicates how valuable these cars have become. If you have a forest wreck that can be saved, you are probably sitting on a gold mine. However, I missed the pickups, both single cabs and double cabs. There were only a few of them. I suspect that the high prices, especially of the T1 buses, have meant that the pickups have been used as donor cars for bus projects.

volksworld In terms of style, there is a lot going on in the rat look and lowering with extreme wheel angles. They are tough and very nice photo subjects, but I can't imagine them driving very well. Personally, I prefer more original cars, - probably because I experienced these in my own boyhood days in the 60s. My mate had a T1 double cab, the neighbors a 53 model bubble with a split rear window, and it was great when my cousins came to visit in their lemon yellow 59 bubble.

I never get tired of looking at public carriages. Over the weekend I got to study more than a hundred pieces in detail, - many of them in the car park. The exhibition continued there. And if I were to look at all the cars, I would have to spend another day.

I took lots of pictures. Far too many to show in this post, - but promise to continue posting pictures under the "Volkswagen" link on the right.